Washington State University
EXECUTIVE POLICY MANUAL

Policy Approval and Distribution

University policies and procedures are to be appropriately approved,
published, and distributed in designated and authorized publications and
web locations. This policy outlines the drafting, review, approval, and
distribution processes for administrative, business, and safety policies
and procedures.

POLICY

University personnel are to obtain appropriate approvals prior to publication
of University policies and procedures.

University policies are to be consistent with provisions of the Washington
Administrative Code and the Revised Code of Washington.

University policies and procedures are to be published and distributed
in designated and approved publications and approved web locations.

Advisory guidelines which supplement University policies and procedures
may be published and distributed from departmental websites.

APPLICABILITY

This policy applies to University policies, procedures, and advisory
guidelines related to administrative, business, and safety functions that
affect many or most University units.

Policies and procedures that affect operations at a single University campus;
i.e., WSU Spokane, WSU Tri-Cities, WSU Vancouver; are reviewed and approved by
the responsible chancellor and distributed on the campus website. Such policies
and procedures are to be consistent with provisions of the Washington Administrative
Code. Preliminary review by applicable offices indicated under "Preliminary
Review/Approval" below should be considered, particularly the Office
of Internal Audit and the Office of the Attorney General.

RESPONSIBILITY

Responsible Office

The office which implements and administers the policy/procedure is
responsible for preparing the document in accordance with the requirements
of this policy.

Procedures, Records, and Forms

The Office of Procedures, Records, and Forms manages a central policies
website and coordinates the publication of all items included on the website.
The office also drafts and edits the Business Policies and Procedures Manual
and Safety Policies and Procedures Manual.

Responsible Director

The responsible director approves procedure statements or forwards them
to the responsible vice president for approval. The responsible director
also approves advisory guideline statements.

Responsible Vice President

The responsible vice president or designee approves policies or forwards
them to the University's council of executive officers for approval.

A vice president may designate a subordinate to approve policies or
a specified subset of policies by sending a signed memorandum to the Office
of Procedures, Records, and Forms. Such a designation remains in effect
until the vice president or designee no longer occupy the position held
at the time of designation or until rescinded by the vice president.

Executive Officers

The University's council of executive officers approves those University
policies referred to it by the individual vice presidents.

DEFINITIONS

University Policy

A policy is a plan or general course of action, having broad application
throughout the University, intended to influence and determine decisions,
actions, and other matters. A policy helps to ensure compliance with applicable
laws and regulation, promotes operational efficiencies, promotes one or
more of the University's missions, and/or reduces risk to the institution.

University Procedure

A procedure is an established method of implementing a University policy.

Advisory Guideline

An advisory guideline provides a recommended, but not required, method
for implementing an administrative process.

Recommended Format

The recommended standard format for policy and procedure statements
includes the following elements: effective date, revision date, policy
or overview, applicability, responsibility, definitions, and procedures.

The recommended standard format for advisory guideline statements includes
the following elements: effective date, revision date, reference to the
related approved University policy, applicability, guidelines.

PROCEDURE

Analysis/Drafting

Usually the department responsible for implementing and administering
the policy/procedure analyzes the issues and conceptualizes the substance
of the policy/procedure.

Approval to Proceed

When seeking major policy changes, before proceeding further with policy
development, the implementing department routes a summary of the proposal
with an analysis to the responsible vice president through the responsible
director. The vice president determines whether or not policy development
will proceed. NOTE: This step is not required for draft proposals that
do not include major policy statements.

Draft Preparation

The implementing department prepares a first draft if the document is
to be published in the Executive Policy Manual or in another approved publication
other than the Business Policies and Procedures Manual or Safety Policies
and Procedures Manual.

BPPM/SPPM

The responsible department contacts the Office of Procedures, Records,
and Forms if the document is to be published in the Business Policies and
Procedures Manual (BPPM) or Safety Policies and Procedures Manual (SPPM).
The Office of Procedures, Records, and Forms prepares the draft based upon
source materials and interviews with departmental personnel.

Preliminary Review/Approval

Responsible Department / Procedures, Records, and Forms

The responsible department or Procedures, Records, and Forms routes
the first draft to constituencies immediately involved with the proposed
policy.

Responsible Director

After considering input from the constituencies, the responsible department
or Procedures, Records, and Forms routes the proposed policy with a supporting
policy analysis to the responsible director. The director may take one
of the following actions regarding the proposed policy:

Route the proposal back to the responsible department noting that the
policy is not to be considered further.

Route the proposal back to the department or Procedures, Records, and
Forms for further analysis, for consideration of other options, or redrafting.

Give the proposal preliminary approval for review by additional University
officers and constituencies. The Attorney General's Office; Human Resource
Services; Council of Deans, Faculty Senate; Office of Internal Audit; Office
of Procedures, Records, and Forms; Office of Risk Management; Office of
Research are a few of the offices and groups that may be included in this
review, depending upon subject matter and scope of the proposal.

The Attorney General's Office reviews the proposal for consistency with
state and federal laws, rules and regulations.

When appropriate, the Council of Deans reviews the proposal to determine
the potential effects on subordinate units and to assess the administrative
feasibility of the proposed policy.

The Faculty Senate provides advice and recommendations regarding any
proposed policy that could affect academic functions.

The Office of Procedures, Records, and Forms reviews proposals for consistency
with existing policies and procedures published in the Business Policies
and Procedures Manual and Safety Policies and Procedures Manual. Procedures,
Records, and Forms also reviews the procedure for potential impact on University
units other than the implementing unit.

The Office of Internal Audit reviews proposed policies for the inclusion
of proper internal controls to control, monitor, and safeguard University
and state assets.

If a proposal is substantially revised, it may be routed back to the
reviewing organizations, offices, and constituencies for another review
round.

Final Approval

Determination of the appropriate authority for final approval of a policy
or procedure is dependent upon the judgment of the involved University
officials. Generally, when in doubt regarding level of final approval,
the responsible department seeks approval from a higher administration
level. The following provides guidance for determining the appropriate
approval level.

Procedures

A director may approve procedural statements or changes. However, procedures
with broad University impact and scope should be approved by the responsible
vice president.

Policies

Policy statements or policy changes are routed to the responsible vice
president or designee for approval. The vice president may approve the
proposal or take it to the University's council of executive officers for
final approval.

Comments

When a director or vice president forwards a proposal for approval,
he or she may include reviewers' comments not incorporated into the draft.

Considerations

Reviewers are to consider a proposal's consistency with University priorities
and directions, impact upon operations, and ease of administration.

Notification of Decisions

The responsible director or vice president informs reviewing and implementing
organizations of approval decisions regarding the proposal.

Implementation

After final approval, the policy is implemented and distributed in accordance
with distribution requirements described below.

Distribution

After the proposed policy/procedure is approved, the responsible department
ensures that the document is published in an approved official publication.

Approved Publications

Approved official policy and procedure publications/websites and responsible
offices:

Administrative Professional Personnel Handbook

Human Resource Services

Academic Catalog

Registrar

Business Policies and Procedures Manual

Procedures, Records, and Forms

Educational Policies and Procedures Manual

Provost's Office/Faculty Senate

Executive Policy Manual

University executive officers and Procedures, Records, and Forms

Faculty Manual

Provost's Office/Faculty Senate

Graduate School Policies and Procedures

Graduate School

Laboratory Safety Manual

Environmental Health and Safety

OGRD Memorandums

Office of Research,
Office of Grant and Research Development

Safety Policies and Procedures Manual

Procedures, Records, and Forms

Departments are not to independently publish policies having University-wide
impact in locations other than those noted above.

Official and approved University policies and procedures are not to
be republished on departmental websites. Departmental websites should link
to official policy/procedure sites when references are required.

The issuing department is responsible for ensuring that the policy/procedure
document reflects current practices. The department is to review the document at least
once every three years and update it as necessary in conformance with the procedures
provided above. Anytime operational changes occur that impact the content of the
policy/procedure document, the department is to conduct a formal review and process
any necessary revisions in conformance with the procedures provided above. Documentation
of any policy/procedure review is to be forwarded to the Office of Procedures, Records,
and Forms for retention.

Retention of Superseded Policies and Procedures

Issuing departments are responsible for retaining policies and procedures
for at least six years after they are superseded. See BPPM 90.01.